friends in southern maryland. that is something to be conscious of. one to four inches by 7:00 p.m. 8 to 14 overnight. yes, we will probably have thunder snow tomorrow night late after midnight. six to 12 inches saturday. finish your errands by morning. four to 12 inches into southern maryland for some rain and some sleet and a mixture, so that is the deal. futurecast, let me show you this real quickly. clouds come in quickly tomorrow morning. you are okay through the early morning hours. early morning rush will be okay. by 12:30, we have accumulating snow in manassas. it will work its way from southwest to northeast. so get into town and eventually work its way over toward fairfax. and across into montgomery county. we will come back and have some tips on things you can do to prep before the storm hits. >> we will be talking out it constantly. breaking news, metro has

shut down service for buses and rails this weekend. wusa9's mola lenghi live with us from the details from metro headquarters. so bring us up to speed. >> reporter: some pretty significant changes during the course of this oncoming blizzard. metro, the entire system includes rail, bus, and metro access will be closed for the entire weekend in anticipation of the blizzard that we are expecting. here are the details. rail service will be suspended both above and below ground. the entire system. starting at 11:00 p.m. tomorrow night. so at 11:00, after that, no more rail service system wide. bus service will be suspended beginning at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. no more bus pickups after 5:00. the transit service for people with disabilities will be suspended after 6:00 p.m. tomorrow and remain closed saturday and sunday. again, all three platforms, metro access, bus, and rail system, will remain closed saturday and sunday. metro gm paul witifield says

the aim is to be back up and running by monday but that depends on how quickly they can get the aboveground rails plowed off. >> we understand the importance metro plays if play for the region. it is our responsibility to make sure the customers are transported safely and our employees are safe. >> reporter: metro gm says suspending services really a two-fold mission here. one is that the safety of the riders and employees which you heard him say right there. he says the other is to protect the equipment, the trains, and the buses. they will be able to house the equipment in storage, garages, and in the case of the trains since service will be suspended, they will keep the trains in the understood grown levels and be protected from the snow and the ice. i'm mola lenghi for wusa9.

>> the biggest risk of life and limb is to people just not paying attention. >> emergency managers are urging people to prepare now and stay home tomorrow and saturday after the wind starts to blow and the snow starts to fall. bruce leshan is live in northwest with more on the preparations. bruce? >> this is really serious and critical to remember. this is the kind of weather that can be deadly. two people may have already died trying to stay warm or in traffic. and, the best way to keep yourself safe is to get ready long before the storm hits. one thing is certain. there is no way crews will be caught by surprise by this next storm. >> our state is taking every precaution. >> reporter: maryland's governor says the national guard is standing by and

thousands of road and company crews are preparing for a blizzard of high winds and heavy wet snow crushing the region for a day-and-a-half. >> make sure you have food and supplies at home. not just to last for the weekend, but enough to last up to an entire week. >> reporter: up to a week to dig out that caught a lot of us by surprise. >> wow. >> i hadn't heard of that. i don't think i have a week's supply of food on hand. >> no way. >> reporter: dc's mayor and the governor's of maryland and virginia have all declared states of emergency for friday. >> i lived in dc most of my life and i don't know that i have lived through a forecast like this. an extremely large storm. >> are your emergency kits ready? >> reporter: the federal emergency management agency is urging people to lay in supplies and stay off the road. >> once the snow and ice starts and the temperature drops, stay

where you are. >> the most important thing, don't take the storm for granted. >> reporter: and most of us were listening. >> we went out, got our bread, milk, butter, we are set to go and rock this storm. stay inside and enjoy it. >> reporter: one big question still up in the air. what is the federal government going to do? will the office of personnel management close down offices in the dc area? there is a conference call at 9:00 p.m. tonight and federal employees will know about coming to work tomorrow. they promise by about 10:00 p.m. live in northwest dc, bruce leshan, wusa9. >> everybody is waiting for word there bruce. thank you. coming up at 5:30, the mayor apologizes for last night's traffic mess that left drivers stranded for hours. schools across our area have already canceled classes for tomorrow. >> dc public schools closed. catholic university closing at noon. to virginia where the public

school closings are adding up. arlington county, fairfax county, prince william county, alexandria city, manassas. montgomery county, charles county public schools. the university of maryland college park county. prince george's county and frederick schools had already planned the day off. the potential bad weather is not only impacting metro, but travel by air too. american airlines announced it will begin canceling flights into three washington baltimore airports beginning tomorrow afternoon. so, all of the flights here will be grounded on saturday. there is a similar cancellation policy in effect at the other airport in the northeast. the mayor airlines are issuing travel waivers to allow passenger to rebook flights. in prince george's county and pretty much everywhere as a matter of fact, shoppers flocking to the grocery stores and hardware suppliers to stock up for the storm.

with each passing hour, the search to find key items is becoming more desperate. andrea mccarren is out there to brave the crowds at costco and lannum. so, just how difficult was it to get in and out of the aisles and get the stuff you needed? >> reporter: adam, salt, shovels, snow panels, snow boots, all sold out. and several popular items are in short supply. the shopping frenzy at costco was as historic as the incoming storm. >> it is pretty hectic. the parking lot looks like they are giving stuff away. >> reporter: staples like milk, bread, water snapped up as soon as shelves could be stocked. >> we have vegetables and fruit. >> reporter: parents were planning for a string of snow days. >> hopefully, we will go sledding and make snow men. we have popcorn and we are ... popcorn and chocolate.

>> for my kids, snacks, nuts and stuff for the husband. and healthy stuff i think. healthy stuff. >> reporter: many purchased meals that didn't need to be cooked in they lose electricity and plenty of drink. >> nonalcoholic. we don't want disabled people to fall down! [ laughter ] >> what is the one item you cannot live without in the storm? >> my wife. >> reporter: art miller waited in line for one item. batteries. >> hey, if my wife tells me to do something, i do it. [ laughter ] >> reporter: smart man, well think about it. what is the one item you cannot live without in a storm? we will hear more coming up at 6:00. reporting live, andrea mccarren, wusa9. >> hopefully, you have the kibbles and bits stocked up as well. now, if you do need to stock up, costco is open until

8:30 tonight. other stores are open later. now to the virginia side where crews and emergency personnel are preparing for this historic snowstorm. >> surae chinn is live for us in fairfax. and fairfax county command center where they will be closely monitoring this stole and where to allocate their resources. >> reporter: adam, they say they are prepared here, northern virginia gearing up. vdot gearing up. they have layed down a bunch of salt in the command center parking lot. a place that is going to be very busy for the next several days. stay home, they say, something that cannot be repeated enough. but not emphasize yesterday. county leaders say that cannot, will not happen in a blizzard of 2016. >> stay home, stay safe. stay off the roads. so that crews can do their jobs. >> reporter: fairfax county

chairman sharon buliva says heed the warnings. vdot has started to implement their plan of pretreating the roads. 4,000 trucks will report, load up and go throughout virginia tonight. but some folks are still recovering from the scary horrendous white-knuckle driving of a commute last night. >> what happened last night was not okay. that can't be repeated during the following days. >> reporter: fairfax county police so overwhelmed they couldn't respond to all the car crashes. >> it was chaos. we had to put our accident policy into effect which means that any crash where there is no injury to a person is just going to have to wait or not get a report. we won't respond. we were overwhelmed. >> reporter: vdot didn't pretreat the roads because the ground was too cold. >> the concern that we had was that having the liquids freeze. >> reporter: 125 trucks started putting down salt at 5:30

across northern virginia. by then, it was too late. >> i slid in just like everybody else. >> i'm frustrated. >> it is really scary. >> we hate that it happened and it was so difficult. >> can you give the confidence to drivers and return the confidence back that this won't happen again? >> we hope we can gain that confidence back. i have every faith we are going to see a good job from the dot. >> reporter: so, we know that if cars stay off the roads, we will not have a repeat of last night. and have dot knows that it was a huge mistake yesterday but they want to move forward. so does the county. they say they are prepared for this historic storm. surae chinn, wusa9. >> go to our wusa9.com app for updates. turns out a lot of people are taking responsibility for

last night. the supervisor in charge of state highways on the maryland side of the potomac last night admitted that he and his crews were caught by surprise too. here is district three assistant engineer thomas felton. >> we were half staff. we were thinking a clipper was going to come through and blow through with some very light snow. a very small dusting. and, the storm just kind of hung over the top of us a little bit longer. the temperatures were cold. and, traffic. it was ready to end the rush hour. >> and of course, there was no effort to pretreat the beltway or the interstate because a 24 hour window is needed to ramp up. at the time the decision was made tuesday, the forecast looked favorable and we know a whole lot of people who spent a good amount of time stuck on the beltway. and by the time sha was up to full staff, it was 9:00 and the salt truck didn't move because nobody was moving. some salt trucks had to go the wrong way on highway just to

get to the check point. hopefully we learned a lesson. the wusa9 app is a good way to help you get through this blizzard. you will find up to the minute information. forecasts,ings you need right at your fingertips, download it now for free. we are just getting started here on wusa9 news at 5:00. looking for a few good men and women. ran organizer putting out a call for a thousand volunteers to help clear out the sidewalks. >> and, topper is coming back with those have to know details on blizzard 2016 including things you can do around your house right now to get ready for the storm. >> and right after the break, an emotional sentencing day for the man who killed three

wow. the internet is crazy fast here. i know, right? it's so nice to have everyone over. hi hey. mmm. i just laid an egg. does anybody want it? joey, you want some gasoline? yes, please. mom, guess what? i married a clown and we're having tiny little clown babies. mhm. i just bought a hammer. with internet fast enough for everyone your guests might get a bit carried away. get out of the past.

get fios.

>> no words of remorse from convicted three time killer charles severance before a judge sentenced him to three terms of life in prison. >> before the judge walked into the courtroom, severance grabbed the microphone and said the word sadism twice before the deputy grabbed the mic away from him. he was convicted of killing nancy dunning, ron kirby, and ruth anodado. >> he will be free to wallow in the anger and loathing his life has been filled. >> bob mcdonald is a friend of the victims. peggy fox goes one on one with him about his appearance today in fairfax county. more on blizzard 2016. the effort to get volunteers

involved in snow shoveling is coming up short. the man organizing thinks he will need a thousand people. >> the two things i think are most important right now is that people start to get ready to help out their neighbors. >> reporter: joseph porceli founded snowshovel.org. >> a lot of people don't drive cars so they have to get from their sidewalk to the street or the bus stop. >> reporter: this job takes a lot of people. at last check, he hatted 300 volunteers and he needs 700 more. >> sign up for snowcrew.org and keep an eye on an area where you live to see who needs help. >> reporter: he runs it for free out of his own home where he and his wife are raising their threemonth old baby.

people can sign up to shovel ramps and fire hydrants. >> it is up to everyone to volunteer and use the site. >> reporter: garrett haake, wusa9. >> for more information on volunteering or if you need help, you can download our wusa9 app. we have the information on there to his site. he really is desperate for volunteers in maryland and in virginia. they are not going to shut it down, but capital police say they could limit sledding on the grounds of a capitol. it was made perfectly legal for people to zip down the snow covered west lawn reversing a rule that has been on the books since 1876. but capitol police reserve the right to limit it if it threatens public safety. >> how much sledding would have to happen to threaten public safety? >> i guess if a lot of people are running into each other. but you will have to sled

early. after you get to a certain point there is just too much snow. let's talk about last night. we talked about an inch or less. we had an inch or less. it was unbelievable last night. i think people will stay off the road. so let's talk about the map. we just tweeted this out. we haven't really changed. i guess, we brought the band 18 to 24 a little further south and east into prince george's county. a little colder air. more of a pure snow in some parts of southern maryland. you get into saint mary's county, even into the northern neck, it will be a mix. you are looking at maybe six to 12. frederickstown, round hill. start thinking about your before and after picks. we love that. time lapse is even better.

there is your bulls eye. this storm is going to produce sleet and freezing rain as far south as charlotte and as far north as boston. it will affect 60 million people. these are the totals. by say saturday night, sunday morning, 18 to 24. rockville, silver spring. fairfax. and then, a little bit less as you go down to la plata. pretty impressive. now let's talk about this. here are the top five, national downtown. and then the yellow, 24 inches. 20 inches in february of 1999. it is possible to get in the 15 to 16-inch range. if it gets over 14, it will be in the top ten. not going to touch the 32.4 in february of 2010. we will see if it can get up to the 18 range or touch the 21.7 back in february of 2003. that's on a website by the way.

we listed all ten on our website. so make sure you have new batteries. make sure you have bottled water too. and mark your down spouts and driveway. you know, and sidewalks because someone may have to come and plow it or shovel it. mark and clear your storm drains. mark the fire hydrants with a big stick that will stick out. so if there is a fire and the fire company comes, the department comes, they will be able to locate the hydrant. now, 32 right now. dew points 12, relative humidity way down there at 44% and the winds are northwest at 13. so, kind of a cold day. not crazy cold, heaviest snow, it hasn't changed. let's say 10:00 p.m. friday to 3:00 p.m. saturday. okay? tweet us facebook picks before and after. west of i-95, 15 to 30. stay off the roads in the afternoon friday. you can do some stuff in the morning. this is 10:00 in the morning already snowing to the south of orange and by 2:00, you know,

we have snowfalling now in fairfax. and toward manassas. probably an inch already out toward colepepper. it will be steady snow. and by 4:30, we have snow all the way to baltimore. that is why we think one to four inches by 7:00 p.m. on friday and why it is a good idea to get off the roads by noon on friday, by 7:00, we are getting some pretty good snow bands. temperatures in the upper 20s . then it is hammer time overnight friday into saturday. i think we are going to hear thunder snow after midnight on friday. so, day planner, a little bit of sun maybe at 7:00. then clouds thicken up quickly. maybe some snow breaking out by 1:00. i think more like 2:00 in the district. so, next three days, red weather alert. nice on sunday. maybe some clouds, but nice on sunday. temperatures go back in the low seven days, a little milder which is good. not crazy warm which is also good. want to melt slowly. maybe 50 on tuesday. maybe some showers tuesday night and we are back in the

30s next week. we are heading to break. but first, the latest on flight cancellations piling up at reagan international. actually, that is coming up just after the break [mother] yeah but this neighborhood,i feel like it's got a lot of what we were kinda talking about. we should definitely go see it. [agent] hi. melanie. maggie. living room. [dad]what about this? this looks good. [brendan] no. [mother] isn't it great? [agent] hey brendan,you might like this room. [announcer]redfin pays its agents based on your happiness... that's real estate, redefined.

>> all right, no one is fooling around because of these forecast predictions. the cancellations are piling up at the airport. >> our garrett haake is live at reagan international airport to give you a little bit of a heads up to get out of here sooner rather than later. >> reporter: i think sooner is the key here, for folks traveling tonight. you are in luck. very few flights this evening are canceled unless you are flying south and west into the teeth of the storm. but tomorrow, a number of headlines already precancelling flights. more than 120 flights canceled out of reagan. most of those on southwest and american. so those are your carriers, be sure to check ahead. airlines are telling us they are still working on their plans for tomorrow evening and saturday, but many are anticipating precancelling a number if not the majority of the flights out of both reagan

and vwi. if you are planning to travel and it is not tonight, check with a number of airlines that are offering deals for cancellations knowing how bad this thing could get in the next few days. we will be out here all night monitoring what we hear for the headlines for our latest newscasts. reporting live, garrett haake, wusa9. >> all right, we will see you then. and trust us, you don't want to be stuck at the airport if you don't have to. >> no. straight ahead, stuck at safeway. prince george's county residents spend the night in the parking lot after last night's blast of snow. >> and sounding off on social media. commuters trapped in the traffic tell us their troubles. >> and right after the break, will dc drivers accept the mayost night's mess?

as a small business owner, here's one thing you can rely on: your business will change as it grows. whether it's new space, more employees, or better equipment, things have a way of moving fast. but if your network can't keep up, it can really slow you down. and that's not good for business.

thankfully, a switch to the 100% fiber optic network of verizon fios is all it takes to keep everything moving in the right direction. with fios you get 99.9% network reliability and the fastest wi-fi available, with uploads as fast as downloads. but you also get something more. a network that can move as fast as your business does. right now, upgrade to fios 50 meg or higher internet and phone and get $250 back. call or go online today. small business is better on a better network.

>> all right, we are look at the blizzard warnings in effect. remember, that is all about visibility. you can have blizzard warnings without anything falling from the sky. that gives you an idea of how intense the storms will be. winds and gusts to 40 miles an hour. not so much tomorrow, but tomorrow night late into saturday the storm begins to crank. so, essentially the track of the storm is just about perfect. we have just enough cold air. not a lot of it but enough to keep mainly snow southwest. we are looking at one to four inches at 7:00 p.m. friday. 8 to 14 overnight friday. we might even hear thunder snow. 6 to 12 on saturday, finish

your errands friday morning. >> topper thanks. mayor bowser said i'm sorry after yesterday's horrendous commute on ice covered roads. she admits the city didn't move fast enough. >> delia goncalves is live. i guess are residents accepting her apology? >> reporter: we talked to a lot of folks who are indeed accepting her apology, but that doesn't make it better especially if you were battling or sliding downhillly wisconsin avenue here in northwest. ddot says they pretreated at 4:00 p.m., but at that point, it was too late. >> i am the mayor of washington dc. >> reporter: and this is her mea culpa. >> our city has a responsibility to visitors to deliver essential services every single day. last night, we didn't meet those goals. and for that, we are very

sorry. >> reporter: sorry that crews started pretreating the roads too late. sorry for this nightmare of a commute. sorry for the gridlock. sorry for the wrecks. and sorry that it took curtis howard's wife eight hours to drive from landover to their home in southeast. >> what time? >> about 1:00. >> we may have seen a difference. >> she was woman enough to get up there as a mayor and apologize to the community and i was really impressed with that. >> i'm glad she apologized for it but there is no room for a mistake like that. >> reporter: egypt mimms not confident going into this big storm, but howard says city leaders have learned their lesson. >> what kind of shape are we in for friday? >> lord have mercy. after what happened yesterday, i think they are prepared. i think they have. i don't see the government or

the mayor making this mistake twice. >> reporter: and certainly a lot of folks are hoping that people have learned their lesson and won't repeat that same mistake. now, here is another problem. even though ddot laid down brine, it was pretty much useless because brine is in effective when the temperature hits freezing. we are live in northwest, delia goncalves, wusa9. >> so apology accepted but not sure folks will be as forgiving next time. thank you. ddot says brine is good for 72 hours so they are already pretreating the roads ahead of tomorrow's storm. >> that is a good thing to hear. in prince george's county some drivers never made it home last night. many of them spent the night in the parking lot in this safeway in port washington. we caught up with harold wooten after he had been in his truck 10 hours. >> i feel frustrated that the

salt trucks didn't come by. i guess they thought it wasn't going to be as bad as it was. >> it was pretty wild. people were sleeping in their cars. >> a lot of people in the parking lot couldn't get up the hill. there is an incline and you just can't get up the hill. >> dave is one of the people who spent the night there too. dave owens, our sports anchor. and before the salt trucks came, drivers stranded at the safeway compared it to an ice rink. well stuck and stranded drivers took out their rage on social media last night. some tred to get answers from officials but others just vented. >> debra alfarone has been talking to her tweets since the first snow flake fell and they were pretty angry. >> reporter: yeah, that's an understatement. but what would you do adam if your normal half an hour commute stretched seven hours? some snap pictures and tweet.

some get mad. some make the best of it. no matter how bad you have it, someone else almost always had it worse. >> it took me three hours and 40 minutes. >> it took almost seven hours. >> seven-and-a-half hours from rockville to arlington. >> reporter: meet three road warriors i met on twitter that sat still on three main arteries for hours. i-66, the beltway, and 267. >> i had a tank full of gas and heat. >> reporter: melissa may have been the most positive. she knocked this off her bucket list. >> it was a little fun to add to a miserable night. >> reporter: lenny sat on the beltway six hours. >> i climbed on the roof and surveyed this situation and saw a lot of gaps in between cars. so, i took my car and literally did a u-turn and drove

backwards down an onramp to get out. >> about a half hour away. >> reporter: and the winner of the contest no one wants to win, dc101 radio d.j. mike jones. his community stretched seven plus hours. >> i started watching a movie on my ipad because i was like, i'm parked. nobody is moving! we are not doing anything! so let's hit play. i would like to know where are the plows? >> mike would have been a little happier if he had food with him. he had nothing in his car. he is going to make sure that never happens again lesli. >> oh, we can only hope it doesn't happen again. but all of us have to be warned to be prepared the next time. have a little extra food just in case. also, we are going to be on facebook during the entire storm. so, be sure to go and like our wusa9 facebook page. you will be able to get weather updates and behind the scenes analysis during the storm right in your facebook feed. don't miss it.

well, the district snow and ice coverage streets turned into an illegal parking lot for abandoned cars this morning. >> after several hours of gridlock, some drivers gave up, left their vehicles, and took off on foot. some of the cars simply ran out of gas. several drivers said trips that take 15 minutes we just heard turned into journeys up to seven hours or more. people doesn't pick up their cars until the morning. one pair's car sat facing each other overnight with only inches to spare. >> cars hit some ice. wheels spinning. i was so tired that eventually i parked here and walked the two miles home. >> eventually managed to get to the side of the road without harming the cars i was against. left a note saying i slid into your car. i was going object two miles an hour at the time. and bailed on my car. >> so that first guy we heard from said police told him not to worry about getting any sort

of parking ticket. the driver of a private snowplow is hailed after an accident killed someone in prince george's county. it happened midnight, after striking the victim, the driver left the scene. but cops tracked him down and arrested him about 30 minutes later. >> the wusa9 9news app is the best resource to help you get through blizzard 2016. up to the minute information, school closings, download it for free for your apple and android devices. plenty more on blizzard 2016. >> but after the break, a homicide investigation involving a tent on fire at a montgomery county homeless camp. >> and stolen goats in virginia rescued just in

ahh... yeah! ahh... ahh... ah. you probably say it a million times a day. ahh... ahh! ahh... ahh! but at cigna, we want to help everyone say it once a year. say "ahh". >>ahh... cigna medical plans cover one hundred percent of your in-network annual checkup. so america, let's go. know. ahh! and take control of your health. cigna. together, all the way.

having lots of devices in your home can really slow your internet down. so keep things moving with 100% fiber optic fios, the fastest internet and wi-fi available, with speeds from 50 to 500 megs. it's no wonder we're ranked highest in customer satisfaction by jd power. now, for $79.99 a month online get 50 meg fios internet, tv and phone for your first year. or with a 2 year agreement, get $300 back. go to getfios.com or call 1.888.get.fios.

>> montgomery county police are trying to figure out how a man

died in a homeless camp in rockville. >> officers on the scene found a burning tent in a wooded area near randolph road. once they put the fire out, cops found a dead man who had on fire. the man's name has not been released. the homicide unit is investigating. a maryland high school teacher is facing child sex abuse charges. the teacher identified here as 39-year-old nathan lee martin was arrested yesterday at his school. a 16-year-old female student says martin pulled her into a classroom closet last month where he allegedly touched her inappropriately. the great goat heist in virginia has been solved. eight of the animals were stolen from farms in stafford county. most of them recovered after a tip led investigators to a butcher shop in fredericksburg. it was just that close. police say they arrested 33- year-old steven calea who sold the animals to the meat market. the police department says all of the goats have been reunited

with their owners. straight ahead, topper with the latest on blizzard 2016. >> plus, we pay having lots of devices in your home can really slow your internet down. so keep things moving with 100% fiber optic fios, the fastest internet and wi-fi available, with speeds from 50 to 500 megs. it's no wonder we're ranked highest in customer satisfaction by

jd power. now, for $79.99 a month online get 50 meg fios internet, tv and phone for your first year. or with a 2 year agreement, get $300 back. go to getfios.com or call 1.888.get.fios.

>> 17 days of counting until superbowl 50 on wusa9. but who will face off in the big game? we will find out this sunday as the broncos host new england. today, a local restaurant gives a huge portion of its proceeds to military and firefighters. >> hi! >> hi! >> how are you? >> reporter: the welcome was warm. the aroma, irresistible. our wusa9 service dog in training for a wounded warrior introduced us to mission barbecue where the staff delivers barbecue and respect to all who serve our country. >> what a beautiful dog. a special spirit about him. he has the spirit to serve you

can tell. >> reporter: mission barbecue is based in maryland. proceeds from the restaurant goes to organizations that help military, local police, and firefighters. >> my eyes have been opened incredibly on the sacrifices not only of the warriors, the police, the fire, the men and women. their families. >> reporter: that makes regular customers feel good about dining here. >> i think our freedom isn't free and it comes at a cost and we should support those who helped give us that freedom. >> reporter: even the employees feel a profound connection to the mission. by serving barbecue, brittany moren honors her husband in the army and the brother-in-law who was killed in iraq. specialist steven elrod was 20 years old. >> we have his picture. it is a way to share his story with all of the customers that come in here. >> reporter: mission barbecue launched on september 11 of 2011, 10 years after our world

changed forever, the founders wanted to do something to give back. last year, the company raised more than $500,000 for military related charities. with bunce's salute to service, i'm andrea mccarren, wusa9. >> we have more on mission barbecue on our wusa9.com app. and if you want bunce to visit, send us an e-mail at desk@wusa9.com with the subject line salute to service. now, the coming winter blizzard. there are potential paralyzing conditions. that comes from meteorologists at noaa. >> about 50 million people across the northeast could be impacted by the storm. at a briefing today, meteorologists began to notice the monster storm about a week ago. as did topper. they are confident in their predictions because several weather models are pointing to

a similar outcome. they say something that rarely happens, noaa officials want people to know it is not too late to prepare for this storm. >> what we have seen so far for the past five or six days is going to carry right on in. if that happens and people have not taken action, and they are driving on i-95 on saturday night, their lives are at risk. >> that guy is the man. take it from him. fema workers are embedded in forecast centers and they are working with state and local officials to prepare for this storm. topper, you have told us about it six days now. >> that man is responsible for getting all of these computer models accepted, he is the man. a couple of things, we were off air on a couple of comcast carriers. if we are off air, download us on our app. like us on facebook at wusa9.

we will do a live chat. answer your questions at 6:40 tonight. we have not changed the map much. it has extended a little further east into prince george's county. the bulls eye north and west will hold. north and west of town. leesburg, winchester, round hill, big time snows up to two feet. and then even down to the south, even la plata looking to get 12 to 13. probably only three to six down toward the northern neck in extreme mary's county. to, get your prescriptioning filled by friday morning and not only prescriptions, maybe a tylenol, pedialyte. the storm will affect the entire i-95 corridor. blizzard watch just went up for long island. the storm affects folks in the carolinas. there is an ice storm set in charlotte. this will be tough to escape.

keep your devices charged and tweet and facebook before and after picks. think about that. try to frame it up the same way. it's good stuff. a live look outside. 32 right now. we are looking at winds out of the northwest at 13. so it is fairly cold. not crazy cold, heaviest snow 10:00 p.m. friday to 3:00 p.m. saturday. looks to be about right. again, tweet us your pictures. we love to have that. and also, your snowfall amounts because we need a pair of eyes out there when talking about snowfalls. totals 15 to 30 inches. stay off the road after noon on friday. maybe earlier in southwest virginia. by 2:00 p.m., we have snow to fairfax, manassas, leesburg. much like our little snow last night, it will accumulate quickly. folks for screaming about seeing snowplows. they don't plow an inch of snow. doesn't do any good.

boom, we hit the entire area at about 4:30. you are trying to decide to keep workers, if you are across the river in montgomery county, keep them until 2:00 p.m. get them out of there. manassas, leesburg, send everybody home by noon. so, day planner, fading sunshine. cloudy, 9:00, 11:00. snowbreaking out at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00. 32 for a high. next three days, six to 12 inches saturday evening. 31, seasonal on sunday. we have a yellow alert day that sunday because of cleanup. rain showers possible tuesday. back in the 30s on wednesday and thursday of next week. once the washington area emerges from snow of 2016, you may want to crank up your cars though stay out of it. aaa recommends you clear off the snow and ice completely,

switch the headlight to low beams so drivers behind you can see your taillights. you want to be seen. and never use your cruise control to drive on slippery, snowy, wet streets. remain calm, use your common sense to safely arrive at your destination. and you also wanted to plan ahead when it comes to food safety in the efferent of a power outage, keep the fridge and freezer doors shut tight. the food will stay safe up to four hours. if the power is not out by then, take the food you could possibly eat, put them in a cooler filled with ice but don't place your perishable foods out in the snow. you will expose the food to animals and unsanitary conditions. do fill up buckets or empty containers or cans with water outside to make sure you can get some homemade ice going to use in the refrigerator or the freezer or the coolers. got all that? on the way at 6:00 with

bruce johnson and jan jeffcoat, the precautions being taken across our area in advance of tomorrow's blizzard. >> also ahead, confidence in snow removal, crews shaken pretty badly by last night's poor performance in a pretty minor snowstorm. >> but up next, supermarkets with digital displays, robots, smart dressing rooms

know your financial plan won't keep you up at night. know you have insights from professional investment strategists to help set your mind at ease. know that planning for retirement can be the least of your worries. with the guidance of a pnc investments financial advisor, know you can get help staying on track for the future you've always wanted.

>> online shopping continues to grow in popularity. >> so of course, now, stores

are looking for ways to use technology to improve the in- store shopping experience. jill wagner has a look. >> reporter: pepper could be coming to a store near you. >> how may i help you? >> reporter: the robot can tell you where an item is located inside a store. even suggest a jacket or a dress that might look good. >> this style is complementing to almost all body shapes. >> reporter: pepper is one of the new technologies that was on display at the national retail federation expo in new york. >> this allows you to see the differences. >> reporter: michelle is with intel and says the company is using technology to help the shoppers find all the information they would get online in the store. like this supermarket of the future. motion sensors detect when you are reaching for a product and show you what is in it and its carbon footprint. >> consumers want to be more aware. >> reporter: it is changing the

way we buy shoes. forget this century old device. nordstrom and intel are testing this digital foot scanner giving you a 3d read of your foot. >> this is like a smart dressing room. >> absolutely. >> reporter: levi stores will let you ask for a different style of jean or size. >> it will pop up on this screen, now, what i can do is i can choose the size that i actually want and request that item. >> reporter: it is technology designed to make in-store shopping a lot easier. and maybe even more fun. >> wonderful. >> reporter: jill wagner, cbs news, new york. >> you can expect to see many of these new technologies here in stores in the united states by the end of the year. right now at 6:00, metro makes the decision to shut down saturday and sunday. >> black friday has nothing on shopping for a blizzard. if you don't have your salt and shovels by now, you may out of

luck. >> and it could be well into next week before the cleanup is complete. i'm bruce johnson. >> i'm jan jeffcoat. the storm is trending. >> many of the area schools have announced they will be closed tomorrow and metro says buses will stop running friday evening at 5:00. trains will stop running tomorrow night at 11:00 and both will remain closed saturday and sunday. >> chief meteorologist topper shutt is here with a look at the staggering snowfall potential. >> i think the little system we had last night tipped everybody over the edge to close schools tomorrow which is a good idea. snow gets in there south and west of town quicker. here are the potentials. this will be historic no doubt. anywhere from 20 to 24 inches winchester, hagerstown. frederick. then less as you go south and east. in part because you will mix with some sleet and freezing rain. but still a pretty good storm. our friends in la plata, 12 to

18. saint mary city, anywhere from 6 to maybe 12 inches. more like six to nine inches. that is all the way through sunday. heaviest snow will fall friday night into saturday early afternoon. yes. blizzard warnings in effect now, they take effect tomorrow, friday, go through sunday morning. and, they cover the entire metro area. if you are not under a blizzard warning, it is a winter storm warning. now blizzard watches have been posted all the way up to long island. one to four inches by 7:00 p.m. friday. 8 to 14 overnight friday. we will probably hear thunder snow. great dynamic atmosphere overnight. and then six to 12 inches on saturday. finish your errands friday morning. less to the south and the east, because of the mix as well. remember, follow